Ban plastic use in fishing.

[no-one in particular]

Should we self impose a ban, plastic floats, mono line, carbon and fiber roads (indestructible enough) or should we just be hypocrites and carry on using them until a ban is imposed on the manufactures of these, may happen one day.
I mean we all moan about this polluting our waterways and yet and fish, dump/lose plenty of it in the water ourselves, how many plastic floats and mono line ends up there. I am beginning to think we are a disgrace.
What prompted this was I have just been given a set of 15 plastic floats, just got me thinking.

ps-if the same thread is posted twice, I couldn't see the first time I did it.

 

[mikench]

We should ban the discarding of plastics into our rivers, lakes and oceans ! However our endeavours/sacrifices would be a drop in the ocean( pun intended) against the volumes of plastic we, mankind, discards every minute! Line is an issue and there must be a better way of disposing of it than even taking it home and putting it in the bin! Rods can and do last a lifetime! We anglers pollute but on an infinitesimal level against society as a whole!

 

[103841]

I burn my line so at least it’s a solid mass that cannot snare bird life scavenging the land fills.

Our recycling bin gets emptied fortnightly and it scares me to see just how much plastic waste just two people can create. The majority from food packaging and toiletries.

I only learnt just the other day that black plastic cannot be recycled as the machines cant detect black, I believe one or two supermarkets are to stop using black and replace with transparent.

My concerns about plastic waste within my fishing collection are zero by comparison.

 

[tomino2112]

You should add lures to the list any given time I go fishing I see at least one angler fighting with snagged lure. One time I was fishing river a guy in canoe came to me and game me handful of fishing line and lures he found going up and down the river. It was about 20 lures and what must have been 100m of line.

Last week on the way from Margate I stopped in place called "Reculver" and met really nice Scottish guy fishing off the rocks there. He showed me picture of what must have been a mile (I am not exaggerating) of 100lb+ mono line he reeled in the other day.

Its not often I would disagree with mikench, but in this case I would have to say that the pollution anglers create on waters is quite substantial.

The first time my wife went fishing with me and I got snagged lure that I could not recover (fortunately broke off at the knot) she asked me "Wait, so you want to tell me that there are these pieces of plastic all over waters?".

 

[mikench]

Tomino I entirely agree with you that the Angling community, or at least parts of it, do create substantial waste and thus pollution! My point was that in the overall scheme of things it is tiny and even if we cleared up after ourselves our impact on the overall problem would be infinitesimal ! We need a concerted effort to reduce plastic use in all aspects of our daily life ranging from packaging to our throw away lifestyle! New phones, cars, furniture, clothes, TVs , washing machines etc etc help economies but do nothing for the planet. Every journey however starts with a single step!

 

[nottskev]

We should impose a pre-emptive ban on line, floats and "carbon and fiber roads" (?), or be hypocrites?

I don't feel inclined to stick my head in this particular cleft stick. Yes, of course we should pick up after ourselves and do our best to minimise tackle losses. Most - not all - anglers I see do that. Many clubs are, quite rightly, severe on litter.

To avoid being too broad-brush, it's useful to distinguish between litter and pollution. Where the former is ugly and defaces our waters, the latter reduces their capacity to support life. Anglers should indeed be ashamed of the former, but need not, as far as I can see, reproach themselves for the latter, which largely stems from industrial practices and rogue disposal of harmful substances.

The fact that carbon fibre rods last a long time - some longer than others - seems a plus to me.......

Like everyone else, I lose the odd float up a tree and the occasional bit of line in a snag; I'm not putting my hands up, though to charges, of "polluter" or "hypocrite".

 

[theartist]

Anyone else think the government and wildlife charities missed a trick following Blue planet's publicity over the plastic in the oceans?

How hard would it have been to do an advertising campaign showing a bottle being chucked in a river and following its journey downstream till it ends up killing something. Or something of that ilk, the kids would have taken that on board and even some dumb parents would stop and think after all hurting the Dolphins would get a message across to a lot of people.

Remember the keep Britain tidy campaign?

 

[thecrow]

I don't leave litter, any bits of line are cut up and taken home to be disposed of, packaging is put for recycling, I believe that most anglers do the same but its unfortunate that sometimes anglers do leave man made materials in the environment, its something that is unavoidable.

Anglers have no choice when it comes to stuff they purchase being packed in plastic, if you need something is an angler to do without it because of the packaging? manufacturers are the ones that have control over this but I imagine they are all set up to use plastic.

What more can I as an angler do? Should mono be banned in favour of a biodegradable braid or another substitute I don't know about?

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I think you have to differentiate between the "plastics" that are essential in our fishing, lines, floats etc, and the single use plastics that are so often used to pack what we buy in the tackle shops.


There is a FB group against exactly that,the single use packaging, and it has been well supported by both anglers and the trade.


It is enlightenig to see some of the smaller bait makers who have turned awat from plastics altogether in favour of recycled paper/cardboard.


If you have a FB account then look for "Anglers Against Single Use Plastics . . . . .

 

[thecrow]

I saw on the news this morning that bottled water sales have risen by 20% in this current weather, how many extra bottles would that equate to adding to the already massive number discarded everyday?

 

[mikench]

I have often thought about the more creative use for pva bags for dry bait, pellets and so on! For one use applications other than Angling, like veg(assuming it's strong enough) it could be ideal!

 

[Jeff Woodhouse]

Should mono be banned in favour of a biodegradable braid or another substitute I don't know about?

I've started using disolvable PVA string now for all my hooklinks, but it's costing me an arm and a leg in hooks!mg:

 

[mikench]

.....and fish presumably!!

 

[no-one in particular]

Its not the packaging or litter I am on about, what we take home, its the stuff we just inadvertently lose and we cannot prevent that. I wonder if all the line, plastic floats, beads, booms, lures that 2 million anglers lose every year in the sea and freshwater was piled up in one place multiplied by 50 years, would it be infinitesimal. Put that on a global basis and I think it could look quite shocking because that pile is still there somewhere, will be for a very long time and we are adding to it every year; and most of it will end up in fish tissue or some other unfortunate bit of life.
Why should we be exempt from any blame just because its not deliberate?
If we are going to deprive others of plastic use why shouldn't we be?
Why are we a special case?
Can we realistically expect not to be pulled in under this umbrella?

I am just wondering how this might pan out one day given the power of the plastic argument in the hands of the environment organizations especially the anti angling ones.

 

[mikench]

Mark I reckon we anglers contribute but our floats and bits of plastic cannot be compared to drift nets, coke and other soft drinkbottles, plastic balls used in cosmetics, bags, polystyrene , oil, shipping wreckage, soft wipes, sanitary towels and the list goes on ad infinitum! We are a disgusting race, the human race, and it's all self inflicted! Why do we need bottled water when it comes out of a tap? That is madness personified! How can a company like Coca Cola selling **** become such a global force! It defies belief!

 

[no-one in particular]

Mark I reckon we anglers contribute but our floats and bits of plastic cannot be compared to drift nets, coke and other soft drinkbottles, plastic balls used in cosmetics, bags, polystyrene , oil, shipping wreckage, soft wipes, sanitary towels and the list goes on ad infinitum! We are a disgusting race, the human race, and it's all self inflicted! Why do we need bottled water when it comes out of a tap? That is madness personified! How can a company like Coca Cola selling **** become such a global force! It defies belief!

Cant do that, everyone's not responsible, 80% of all the plastic comes from 7 rivers not ours so don't blame us, I only throw 2 bottles a year in the hedgerows so its not my fault. Everyone's happy to blame others but when it comes home not happy. And its worse for anglers, the great champions of pollution, the guardians of our waterways, nature and FISH (yep fish, think about it) except when we could be made to do something we don't want, different story then!
I have reeled in thousands of yards of lost line over the years, a pile of rocks off the jetty I collect weights from at spring low tides, covered in line, last time I went fishing as soon as I set up, two anglers were hooked up on them and had to snap their lines; that happens everytime I fish there, no exaggeration. Seen lakes drained covered in the stuff on the bed, plastic floats and lures all over the shop. Multiply that a million times; I think we are a disgrace to the enviroment. Where does most of it end up, I was only last week looking at pictures of shrimps with microscopic tiny bits of plastics in their guts. Was any of that line or lures or a plastic float; could have been from any one of us; could be yours! Nah, not our fault Guv.

I am not having a go at anyone, I am just as much to blame but is it going to get thrown back at us and do we need to wake up a bit as a so called responsible body of people or just carry on sticking our fingers up to the rest of the world and wait for it to turn back on us! Lets stop the plastic pollution of our waters but anglers are exempt. Thats what they will say, your a bunch of hypocrites.
How many thousands of these have been sold and where will it end up in 50 years time, its all plastic, packaging the lot-setting an example to all the polluters is it and no one wants to. I wouldn't be bothered if they banned it all, be a good job done.

 

[mikench]

We are all responsible as I have said! If angling ceased tomorrow in all it's forms and all over the country do you think that the quality of our rivers and oceans would improve? Do you think there would be improvements internationally? Do you think our hair shirt approach would persuade people to stop buying bottled water, coffee to go, burgers in polystyrene, disposable nappies, cosmetics, cars, fridges, drugs,fruit and food in plastic packaging, everything in plastic packaging?

Your sentiments and concerns are laudable and I am sure the majority of us try to leave as little trace of our activity as possible! Do you stop beachcasting because your 3 oz lead and 200 yards of thick mono could and probably will one day become snagged and snap of? The same principle applies to fishing for carp at distance! Should we be casting hundreds of yards of line out into our lakes! Global warming is precisely that ; global!! We anglers in the uk do not operate in a vacuum and will not be immune from the winds of change because of pollution caused in China, India, USA , Brazil, Indonesia , Pakistan, Africa and so on!

I have brought home empty cans of spam discarded at the waters edge, I too have pulled out yards of line from lakes and picked up litter. I pick up litter every single day from my local streets and parks! With a neighbour we go round picking up litter. School kids routinely throw empty cans, bags, crisp packets, sandwich packs etc onto the street even when bins are available and as easy to use as throwing it! I have written to the school but Little has changed! I have taken teenagers to task about their litter much to my wife's dismay but short of stimagtising the dropping of litter like smoking in public places we will remain a dirty country! I have compared the uk to other European countries and the comparison does not make pleasant reading! People should be shamed into picking up their litter!

I am with you on the need for examples to be set and anglers should and can set an example! I repeat that every journey starts with a single step!

 

[theartist]

I have taken teenagers to task about their litter much to my wife's dismay but short of stimagtising the dropping of litter like smoking in public places we will remain a dirty country! I have compared the uk to other European countries and the comparison does not make pleasant reading! People should be shamed into picking up their litter!

Shame the parents haven't installed this attitude already, How many of us know where our kids are and what they are up to? My mum god rest her soul would have tanned my a*** big time if she saw me dropping litter, even when we were pennyless we had a bin at home, wasn't hard to take stuff back there, they even have bins in streets and parks, although you wouldn't know some times.

 

[thecrow]

Shame the parents haven't installed this attitude already, How many of us know where our kids are and what they are up to? My mum god rest her soul would have tanned my a*** big time if she saw me dropping litter, even when we were pennyless we had a bin at home, wasn't hard to take stuff back there, they even have bins in streets and parks, although you wouldn't know some times.

Perhaps if their parents were responsible anglers who took their child fishing from a young age and instilled in them the importance of not leaving litter in the environment it could help with the general attitude of litterers ? anglers can contribute to improving the environment imo.

 

[tomino2112]

Regardless of what has been said above with which I mostly agree I have to say, as a foreigner, that amount of public bins in the UK is laughable. In no way does it advocate for someone to litter, but wherever I go time after time I am having hard time finding bins. This is not just me, if I meet another foreigner and we talk about UK one of the things that always comes up is the lack of bins everywhere.